Lake Erie

Yes, You Can Take Your Kids to Put-In-Bay

updated on 
Sponsored Content Disclosure: Content on our website may be sponsored or contain affiliate links (which means we could earn a commission when you click a link on our website and buy something). To read our full sponsored content disclosure, please click here.

Five Tips to Enjoy a Family-Friendly Day on Lake Erie’s South Bass Island

If you have never visited Put-in-Bay/South Bass Island before, please take a quick look at our Put-in-Bay Primer first for the basics.

Put-in-Bay/South Bass Island, one of western Lake Erie’s most popular tourist spots, has a bit of a reputation as a “party island.” We at Great Lakes Loving hear Northwest Ohioans claim quite often that Put-in-Bay is “not for kids” or not “family-friendly.” The phrases are usually uttered by people new to the area, longtime residents who have never tried taking children along on their visits to The Bay, or even people who have never (gasp!) visited Put-in-Bay at all.

It’s true that Put-in-Bay offers a plethora of entertainment options for the over-21 crowd, including a college-town-esque main street, swim-up drinking establishments, and what is purportedly a saloon with the world’s longest bar. It’s colloquially known as the “Key West of the Great Lakes/Lake Erie” for a reason. Whether your children are toddlers or teenagers, you probably don’t want them brushing elbows with bachelorette parties and frat boys while enjoying a day at the Bay. Truth be told, Put-in-Bay is an awesome place to party, but that doesn’t mean it’s only for adults or that children cannot enjoy a quiet, age-appropriate excursion as well.

We would like to set the record straight: As longtime Northwest Ohio residents and avid Lake Erie enthusiasts, we can definitely assure you that, yes, you can take your kids to Put-in-Bay. In fact, it can be a great place to take children. And, yes, there will be plenty of family-oriented activities for them to enjoy there. South Bass Island is brimming with family-friendly activities that are sure to keep children of all ages entertained.

Just so you know, we have partnered with the Miller Ferry on several occasions and received a complimentary golf cart rental through E’s golf Carts, as well as complimentary ferry tickets and admission to Perry’s Cave Family Fun Center. We greatly appreciate that these partnerships allow us to provide our readers with quality content, including first-hand tips and reviews of our travels, and our partnerships do not affect the personal opinions shared in our posts. You can read our full sponsored content disclosure here.

Continue reading for our top five tips for enjoying PIB with children and don’t forget to read our full 1-day itinerary post, “A Family-Friendly Day at Put-in-Bay“!

If you are looking for a quiet family trip, we suggest you try a weekday and/or non-event day. Weekdays in particular are a great time to visit for a slower paced atmosphere. Kids can have the run of the island without having to worry about crowds or long lines, and the same attractions are open on weekdays as the weekends.

Weekends and holidays/special events are definitely great times for island fun—PIB hosts a variety of events throughout the year, especially during peak summer season. Live music can be enjoyed most of the time somewhere on the island, and many of the events (such as Island Green Week, which we enjoyed with our younger family members in the past) are very family friendly. However, they can also be some of the busiest times on the island as well. Certain holiday weekends, such as Memorial Day and Fourth of July, and many of the special events tend to draw large crowds. Large crowds don’t necessarily mean more visitors looking for drinking and general partying, but crowds can make getting around with children more difficult and intimidating. Don’t get us wrong—we aren’t saying that children are not welcome on weekends or holidays (we have enjoyed many great trips with our children during these times). But if you are looking for a more laid-back trip with the family, we advise you skip the holiday and special event crowds and enjoy a quieter day at Put-in-Bay on a weekday or non-holiday weekend.

Kids in general, especially young children, tend to be in better moods during the earlier portion of the day (or is this just our kids?), but we also recommend traveling early because the main downtown stretch of PIB is loaded with bars, shops, and restaurants. During the day, this is a great family-friendly place to shop and enjoy lunch outside. However, the bar scene will get rowdier the later the day gets, culminating in a pretty busy downtown area on Friday and Saturday nights. Bonus: traveling earlier also often means a less crowded boat ride to the islands.

The absolute best way to traverse South Bass Island is via golf cart. This is especially important if you have children, as we all know how unenjoyable it is to drag a toddler around anywhere on foot, and while the island is fairly stroller-friendly, its size makes walking everywhere impractical unless you plan to stay in the immediate downtown. The golf cart ride itself is also pretty darned entertaining for the little ones. While you can certainly park your cart several places around the island to explore, it is impractical to walk the entire island on foot, especially if you plan to visit the state park or some of the hiking trails further away from the village center. Golf cart parking spots are everywhere, and it’s also just a more relaxing experience to enjoy the island in the open air.

Make sure you golf cart is equipped with seatbelts (as required by state law) and plan to either bring along a car seat or rent one from your chosen golf cart company, if your children are still using a car seat. We called ahead to reserve our car seat, but not all golf cart rentals will have them available, so be sure to plan in advance. We also suggest arranging your party so each child rides next to an adult, if possible. Numerous golf cart rental businesses operate on the island, with varying options for gas or electric carts and the number of passengers each will hold. Learn more here.

Put-in-Bay offers an array of family-oriented attractions, from those geared toward younger children to more teenager-friendly excursions. The local tourism websites offer exhaustive lists of activities, or take a look at our top picks below.

Enjoy Nature:

History and Education:

Food and Drink:

Entertainment:

Put-in-Bay does offer limited grocery and convenience stores, but you may have trouble finding specific items on the island and be forced to pay more for what you do find. For example, one year our phone died and we had a hard time finding a portable charger on the island. We ended up purchasing a regular charger and using the outlets at various businesses we visited to charge it.

We suggest packing a beach bag if you plan to swim and a smaller backpack or cross-body purse to carry just the essentials. If you plan to park the golf cart and walk the downtown area, a light-weight umbrella stroller also comes in handy for smaller children. You don’t want to have to haul a lot of gear onto and off of the ferries, so packing smart and minimalistic is important, unless you are planning to take your car over.

Helpful Links:

You may also like...

Popular Posts